Hayden Donnell is a staff writer for The Spinoff.
Auckland is going through a period of rapid change. Hayden Donnell talks to an urban design advisor about whether it’s possible to transform the city without riling everyone up.
Mt Albert is a town at a crossroads. The pressures of growth are set to radically reshape the area, but so far change has left some of its residents and business owners pining for the past. Hayden Donnell travels to the suburb to talk to locals about the way forward.
Other suburbs have their appeal, but one rises above them all. Hayden Donnell argues Mt Albert is the best place to live in Auckland.
You may have seen the picture, but do you know the people and the policies behind it? Hayden Donnell takes a trip inside Auckland’s newest lobby group, OpenTheBooks.
‘Milkshaking’ is on the rise in Brexit-divided Britain. But is throwing milky treats the best form of political protest? Hayden Donnell investigates.
In what seems like an unlikely source of inspiration, a group of Howick singers have created a folk protest song about Auckland local body planning rules.
New Zealand’s insistence on changing its clocks twice a year doesn’t make sense, and it needs to stop, argues Hayden Donnell.
Owning a home isn’t just paying back a mortgage over 30 years – it also comes with dozens of extra expenses you may not have thought of yet.
Maybe it’s basic. Maybe it’s not to the tastes of foodies about town. But eggs benedict is delicious, writes Hayden Donnell, as he pushes back on the benedict pushback.
In the second in our (rather sporadic) series "Why I love", Hayden Donnell is convinced that Auckland’s best Mexican food is tucked away in an unlikely spot in Henderson.
Simon Bridges said the Government Tax Working Group's call for a capital gains tax was an 'assault on the Kiwi way of life'. That betrays a very depressing and limited view of the Kiwi way of life, says Hayden Donnell.
The National leader faced criticisms for trying and failing to parrot John Key. Hayden Donnell had a solution
Facebook streams have been overrun by an army of anti-1080 activists. We go in search of the source of the spam campaign.
Sometimes it pays to focus on the dark side of gaming. Hayden Donnell shares the harrowing story of his own crippling addiction to Dark Souls.
New Zealand is engaged in a long-running, intense, and completely reasonable debate over whether Santa is a boy or a girl. Hayden Donnell offers his own equally reasonable addition to the discourse.
Cycleways are under fire this week following an incredibly misleading Herald story. Hayden Donnell goes in search of some transport projects to actually get angry about.
Labour is getting crapped on from the left and right after loosening its restrictions on people making capital gains off KiwiBuild houses
How the Wombats, one of the most long-lasting bands from the mid-2000s British guitar rock revival, outlived their contemporaries.
In episode six of Get It to Te Papa, a Lightbox Original made by The Spinoff, Hayden Donnell's journey finally takes him to the national museum.
After a harrowing experience in a Countdown, Hayden Donnell calls for a moratorium on all classic New Zealand snack mash-ups.
Hayden Donnell surveys one of the more rare whiskies to ever go on sale in New Zealand, and asks whether it’s worth its gigantic purchasing price.
In episode five of Get It to Te Papa, a Lightbox Original made by The Spinoff, Hayden Donnell's odyssey takes him to the front door of New Zealand's only true living legend: Suzanne Paul.
People are freaking out about the potential hazards of Lime e-scooters. Hayden Donnell asks whether we could apply these same standards to another type of vehicle causing even more harm.
In episode four of Get It to Te Papa, a Lightbox Original made by The Spinoff, Hayden Donnell goes on the hunt for Auckland's infamous winking, come-hithering Giant Santa.
In episode three of Get It to Te Papa, a Lightbox Original made by The Spinoff, Hayden Donnell starts a valiant campaign to move the country's most famous sign to Te Papa: the Deka sign in Huntly.
Yet another waterfront stadium plan is being put forward for Auckland. Modern-day stadium naysayer Hayden Donnell summons his stadium-supporting past self to debate the merits.
